# 民法 / Civil Code — 第四百四十六条 (Article 446) - Law: 民法 (Civil Code), 明治二十九年法律第八十九号 - English title "Civil Code": Ministry of Justice translation - Kind: Act — the distinction between 法律 (Act), 政令 (Cabinet Order), 省令 (Ministerial Order) and 条例 (local ordinance) decides who may issue it and what it may say. - Provision: 第四百四十六条 (Article 446)（保証人の責任等） — address `art-446` - Text in force since: 2026-06-24 - URL (the page that opens at this provision): https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-446 - Permanent URL (e-Gov law ID, never renamed): https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-446 - Every provision below carries its address and both URLs on the line under it. - Japanese text: e-Gov 法令検索, Digital Agency (デジタル庁). English: as marked on each line below. Only the Japanese as published by the government has legal effect; the text below is a copy of it. Every English rendering below is a translation and says which kind: the Ministry of Justice's translation, or this site's machine translation, whose model and date the Sources list names. They are never merged and never substituted for one another. --- ### 第四百四十六条（保証人の責任等） — (Responsibility of Guarantor) caption: Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System art-446 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-446 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-446 **第一項** 保証人は、主たる債務者がその債務を履行しないときに、その履行をする責任を負う。 art-446/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-446/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-446/par-1 A guarantor has the responsibility to perform the obligation of the principal obligor when the latter fails to perform that obligation. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **第二項** 保証契約は、書面でしなければ、その効力を生じない。 art-446/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-446/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-446/par-2 No guarantee contract becomes effective unless it is made in writing. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System **第三項** 保証契約がその内容を記録した電磁的記録によってされたときは、その保証契約は、書面によってされたものとみなして、前項の規定を適用する。 art-446/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-446/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-446/par-3 If a guarantee contract is concluded by electronic or magnetic record which records its terms, the guarantee contract is deemed to be made in writing, and the provisions of the preceding paragraph apply. Ministry of Justice translation — Japanese Law Translation Database System --- ## Cites - art-446/par-3: 前項 → 民法 第四百四十六条第二項 (Article 446, paragraph (2)), art-446/par-2 — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-446/par-2 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-446/par-2 ## Cited by 4 provisions cite this one. No official source publishes this direction. - 民法 第四百四十六条第三項（保証人の責任等） — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-446/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-446/par-3 - 民法 第四百六十五条の二第三項（個人根保証契約の保証人の責任等） — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-465-2/par-3 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-465-2/par-3 - 民法 第四百六十五条の三第四項（個人貸金等根保証契約の元本確定期日） — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/art-465-3/par-4 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/art-465-3/par-4 - 民法 附則第三条第一項（保証契約の方式に関する経過措置） — https://japanlaw.org/en/civil-code/suppl-4161-147/art-3/par-1 · https://japanlaw.org/l/129AC0000000089/suppl-4161-147/art-3/par-1 --- ## Sources - e-Gov 法令検索, Digital Agency (デジタル庁) — 民法 — the text in force from 2026-06-24 (https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/129AC0000000089/20260624_508AC0000000045), retrieved 2026-10-11 - Japanese Law Translation Database System, Ministry of Justice (法務省) — Civil Code — Ministry of Justice translation (part 1 of 2) (https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go.jp/en/laws/view/4848/tb), retrieved 2026-10-11 - This site's parser, version 190 — 民法 — structure, counts, cross-references and defined terms, computed 2026-10-11